The East African
Wednesday March 17 2021
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Abuja,
Eight days after the African Bar Association’s (AfBA) warning to Cape Verde Island over the detention of a Venezuelan diplomat, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court has ruled that the arrest and detention was illegal.
On Monday, the Ecowas court in Abuja said diplomat Alex Saab should be released and paid $200,000 for unlawful detention.
The AfBA on March 8 had also ordered Cape Verde Island to immediately release Mr Saab, an accredited Venezuelan special envoy and alternate permanent representative to the African Union.
Mr Saab was arrested by the Cape Verdean authorities in June 2020 for alleged money laundering.
Despite ECOWAS Court Ruling, Cape Verde Moves To Extradite Alex Saab To US
This comes after the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) court ruled that Saab s arrest and extradition attempt was illegal.
by SaharaReporters, New York
Mar 17, 2021
The Cape Verdean court on Tuesday approved the extradition of Alex Saab, the embattled Venezuelan diplomat, to the United States.
This comes after the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) court ruled that Saab s arrest and extradition attempt was illegal.
File Photo: A protester putting on “Free Alex Saab shirt
Twitter/nadeska16
On Monday, March 15, the ECOWAS court ruled that since there was no Red Notice in place when Saab was arrested, directing Cape Verde authorities to release him immediately.
By Steve Anya
The African Bar Association (AfBA) has explained why it called on ECOWAS to sanction Cape Verde. President of AfBA, Hannibal Uwaifo, said that the refusal of the small Island nation to release a Venezuelan Diplomat, Mr. Alex Saab who has allegedly been detained in Cape Verde since 2019, is at the heart of the matter.
Uwaifo stated that the Association’s investigation revealed that Saab’s continued detention is in breach of ECOWAS Protocols, the Charter of the African Union, and a gross violation of international law.
According to him, AfBA got a petition from Mr. Saab’s wife, and upon receipt of a petition from Mr. Saab’s wife, the Governing Council of AfBA acted on it by authorising its Human Rights and International Law Committees to investigate the matter.
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Home » News » Detained Venezuelan envoy: African Bar Association urges AU, ECOWAS to prevail on Cape Verde
Detained Venezuelan envoy: African Bar Association urges AU, ECOWAS to prevail on Cape Verde
On
By Victor Arjihromanus
The President of African Bar Association (AfBA) and Nigerian Human Rights Advocate, Mr Hannibal Uwaifo, has called on African Heads of States and governments to persuade the authorities of the Cape Verde Island to rescue itself from the diplomatic sludge of holding on to Ambassador Alex Saab, a doubly accredited Venezuela Special Envoy and Alternate permanent representative to the African Union.
We demand that Alex Saab should be released immediately and his persecution and chastisement in illegal custody in Cape Verde, merely to satisfy the whims of a super power be brought to an end forthwith as has been ordered by a binding unanimous ECOWAS Court ruling on December 2, 2020.
The African Bar Association (AfBA) has called on the African Heads of States and governments to rise as a body, and persuade the authorities of the Cape Verde Island to rescue itself from the diplomatic mud of holding on to Ambassador Alex Saab, accredited Venezuela Special Envoy and Alternate permanent representative to the African Union.
AfBA’s President, Mr. Hannibal Uwaifo, who made the call in a World Press Conference in Lagos, said the continued detention of Saab since June 2020 for possible extradition to the United States, violated settled global diplomatic virtues and statutes, as contained in the Vienna Convention.